Burning Rivers
by Star1086
Summary: Maybe it was the fire in his eyes that scared her. Maybe she was afraid of getting set a blazed. But that’s the problem when you play with fire: you may get burned. Jim and Pam set out to New York one snowy night, but will they make it unscathed?
1. Leaving for New York

A/N: I did it. I reworked the piece to make the snow more plausible. Thanks for the constructive feedback! Hopefully this makes the story more believable. More constructive feedback is much appreciated. (curtsies) -S.

As always, I don't own Jim or Pam or anything related to The Office. Please don't sue me, you'd only get my dogs. (Who are rotten anyway.)

XX

Maybe it was the fire in his eyes that scared her. Maybe she was afraid of getting set a blazed by it. But that's the problem when you play with fire: you may get burned.

Right now his eyes were fixated on hers, drilling through her very being and leaving her exposed and vulnerable under his scrutiny. She was oddly self conscious at that moment, not really sure what to do with her hands. She settled with laying them awkwardly across her stomach; the seat belt biting into her shoulders as she did so. She knew he was right, she was just to terrified to admit it. To him or to herself.

Things were really, really bad. She knew it. Her fingers slid down her stomach to her thigh , wincing slightly as she felt the damp wetness that stuck to her fingers as she tried desperately to hide the acrid smell of blood that oozed through them.

Things were really, really bad.

XXXXX

"Pam, let's go!" Jim shouted up the stairwell. He was weighed down by two suitcases and a small duffel bag, all Pam's. He waited for some sort of sign that he was heard, but was met with only silence. Puffing with the strain of effort from the baggage, he kicked open the door leading from the stairs and into the setting sun and soft downfall of snowfall.

He juggled the heavy luggage, shifting it around until he could reach into his pocket to extract his car keys. He thumbed the automatic release and the trunk clicked open with a slight pop. He laughed at the ludicris amount of luggage she needed for 4 days.

He finally was able to finagle all the bags into the trunk and close it with frozen fingers. He stood there for a moment, cupping his hands around his mouth and warming his numb fingers with his warm breath. Finding that futile, he tucked them under his armpits and tried to warm them there.

"Pam. . ." he called under his breath, rocking on the balls of his feet. "It's colder than piss out here."

After a few more seconds, his resolve wore out and he decided to go back into the warmth and get her. As he was opening the door into the entryway a flash of curly hair bounded out of it and caught him around his waist, and pulling him off guard.

"Christ, Pam! You scared the shit out of me!" He gasped into her giggling hair. He wrapped his arms around her and used her to straighten himself.

"Oh please, you big girl." She laughed, standing on her tippy toes to plant a kiss on his nose. He felt a shiver go up his spine that had nothing to do with the cold.

"Are you ready for this?" He pulled her toward the direction of his car, softly covered with fresh snow.

"Yes. I think so. Yes. Maybe. " He face played over a serious of emotions, trying to set on an answer. "Yes." She managed with a little more confidence.

Jim loved the way she looked when she smiled; so warm and beautiful. Her smile made a grin creep into his features.

"Okay, Miss Fancy Art School graduate. . ." he chuckled as he took her by the hand and led her through the snow to the warm car. She snuggled into the front passenger seat that he held open for her and her eyes trailed his long figure as he made his way to the drivers side.

She had been a mess of emotions since that morning: they were leaving for New York that night, deciding to head up on Friday to give themselves a couple days to enjoy the city before she was meeting with a few potential firms for jobs on Monday.

As excited as she was about the program, the idea of being away from Jim was torturous. She had been horribly spoiled the last year by being able to have constant access to Jim, that the three months she had spent without him had been hard. The idea working without him seemed dreadful, and living in a city without him almost unbearable.

She reached for Jim's hand and intertwined her fingers with his long ones. As bittersweet her feelings were at that moment; she was happy. She was happy that she was with Jim, she was happy about the prospect of finding a new job, she was happy with her life.

"Things had never been so perfect," she sighed as she softly laid her head on his strong shoulder and watched the snow danced in the darken night as they pulled out onto the open road, heading to New York.


	2. Truth or Dare

Don't own anything, yadda yadda yadda.

XX

Pam watched as Jim's fingers danced on the steering wheel; a nervous habit she could well recognize. Jim was anxious. But what about, she couldn't place. She knew he wasn't excited at the aspect of her living away for a few months, but neither was she. She knew he was willing to follow her to New York, but more than that, she knew he was proud of her.

Maybe it was the way the snow fell in large armies of masses, making a relatively easy two hour drive to creep by. Maybe it was a combination of the two. Pam laid her head against the rest and watched the snow blot out the world.

Jim's nerves were on fire. The weather had taken a turn for the worse. Scranton was cold most of the year, but he hadn't expected it to snow this badly this time of November . Jim was pretty confidant driving in the snow, he'd been doing it for over 10 years. But never had he been carrying such precious cargo before, and never did he remember the weather being so unpredictable. It was all he could do not to get lost in the downpour of white flecks that bounced off his windshield.

They had turned off the interstate about 25 minutes ago, an accident closing off their route. This didn't do anything to slate Jim's nerves, but he didn't say anything as he pulled off and took a more scenic route that would lead them the back way up Pennsylvania. This easily added another hour to the trip, which wasn't any better with the snow.

Jim was lost in the downfall until Pam broke the silence. "Hey, truth or dare."

"Uh. . ." Jim tried to think of something funny to say, but his state of nerves kept anything from coming. He gave up and chose truth, the only thing he could do while trapped in the car.

"OK," Pam giggled, obviously pleased. "How old were you when you first kissed a girl?"

Jim made a quick sweep from the road to look sideways at her. "Wasn't that you?" He quipped.

"Ha ha Jim, seriously. You're the one who chose 'truth'. Now come on." She pretended to get comfortable in her seat, making extra effort to place her hands in her lap so she could listen intently.

Jim sighed once, sure she caught the click is eyes made when he rolled them backwards. " OK, Beesly. I was 14," he began.

"Fourteen!? But that's so young!" Pam interrupted, obviously enjoying herself.

"You want me to finish or not?" Jim grinned at her, feigning irritation. When she remained silent, he took that as a yes. "As I was saying, I was fourteen, her name was Norma and it was a very awesome game of spin the bottle, ever heard of it?" He said in his best Andy impersonation. "Well, low and behold the coke bottle landed on her and. . ." he trailed off.

"And…" She encouraged, leaning in.

"And when I kissed her I missed and may have poked her in the eye with my nose." He sped all at once. "There, are you happy?" He asked, followed by a big toothy grin.

Pam couldn't help but laugh. "That is hilarious! Did you hurt her? Was she scarred for life?" She gasped between fits of laughter.

"Yeah, har har har." Jim mocked. "Laugh it up Beesly, remember it's your turn next, and I have a whole arsenal of embarrassing questions." He began to relax, not noticing that they hadn't passed any other cars on the road as they drove on.

"Oh bring it on Halpert, I am an open book." She shot back, fully concentrating on their conversation.

"Truth or dare?" He asked.

Pam thought for a second before answering, "truth."

There was a slight pause from Jim, and Pam watched Jim turned things over in his head.

"What would you do if I told you that I think we should get married?" He softly asked.

Pam's mind froze, along with her mouth. A rare occurrence for her.

Jim turned to catch her face, his eyes twinkling. Her lips pulled into a small grin, giddiness rising in her chest.

She was smiling when she watched his face turn back to the road and watched in horror when her eyes followed his to the road in front of them, painted in white and almost invisible except for a brown crust that stuck out from the snow. It looked like a bone that had busted out of the skin of a broken arm.

A large tree branch that had cracked away and now laid haphazardly in the middle of the road.

All words vanished as she felt Jim stomp the breaks and the car skid, but by then she knew that she wouldn't be answer his question.


	3. Broken Glass

A/N- this was quite difficult to write, I admit. I had written it once, and upon editing, it had magically disappeared into the magical world of annoying things that live to irritate me. Re-writing it became instantly frustrating, not being able to get into the same mojo that has driven me thus far. Hopefully there will be an edit soon that will follow more to my original writings. Here's to hoping. Thanks for all the feedback, it kept me going during this difficult time :)

-S

Jim had always thought that in situations like these, life was supposed to slow down and replay in front of your eyes.

Maybe that only happens when you're dying; although Jim wasn't entirely convinced he wasn't.

But in this circumstance, Jim could vividly see and hear everything that was happening in perfect clarity:

He heard Pam's gasp over his own swearing as he pumped furiously against the brakes, trying in vain to regain control of the car.

When he felt the car begin to skid on the ice that was hidden beneath the white blanket of the snow, he knew they were in trouble. The ice was spinning them sideways at an alarming speed toward the dead trunk that waited for them. He felt his teeth crack and his ears pop as the back passenger side of the car collided with the stump with the sound of a thunderbolt; lifting the car off its wheels and away from the road as the car flipped and rolled.

This definitely wasn't anything like the movies.

XXX

Pam knew it was going to happen; she just didn't know how to prepare herself. She braced one hand against the window and watched the car spin helplessly on the icy surface of the road. She had the perfect view on her side of the frozen branch twisting into the metal of the car, overpowering it and quickly discharging them, throwing them away like a used candy wrapper. Her heart jumped into her throat as she was jerked violently around the cab, powerless to stop it.

After all that she remembered that she was holding her breath; not even being able to scream as the car danced over the road and down into a never ending valley of earth and rocks below.

XXX

Jim wasn't sure what was making him keep his eyes open, everything had unfolded so quickly he just hadn't thought of closing them. He watched the world turn upside down as they were juggled between earth and darkened sky; the swirling of dark and light making him dizzy.

He felt his hair lift and fall against his scalp as the car flipped over and over again. He gripped the steering wheel, listening to the sound of screaming metal and crashing glass echoing into the night. But he still couldn't close his eyes. He kept them open for every rock of dirt and every piece of sky they uncovered. It wasn't until he felt the car come to a crashing halt and the crunching sound of defeated metal that he was finally able to be engulfed by the darkness that waited.


	4. Noises

There was nothing.

No, that's not true. There was darkness, but not nothingness. There was also noise, terrible strangled noises echoing from somewhere distant. And then there was the pain. Lots of pain.

Jim could hear his surroundings before he saw them. A terrible blaring noise that made its way into his skull and danced off the inside of his eyeballs.

Shit. What happened? And what was that horrible noise?

Jim realized his eyes were closed. He tried to forced them open to find the ear splitting pain the noise was causing, but they felt like they were weighed down with what felt like sandbags.

When he could open them he saw that he was still in the car.

The car. There had been an accident. They were in an accident.

That's when it all came flooding back.

The snow. The ice. The tree branch. The crash.

He had hit the brakes and slid, they had flipped for, he wasn't sure how long.

His face was crushed against the steering wheel, to some extent cushioned by the airbag that had long since deflated, the sound of the horn blaring deafeningly into the night.

He pulled his head away from the wheel and the noise abruptly stopped.

He felt his body pull to the right, telling his groggy mind that they had landed on nose of the passenger side of the car, and he felt relief that the car hadn't landed on its back.

Everything inside was blurry; shrouded by the darkness from the night as he turned his head to realize he wasn't alone in the car.

Pam. 'Oh god, Pam was in the car.' He thought, quickly panicking as he felt blood pool to his ears, giving him a intense migraine that made stars skip in front of his vision.

He lifted one arm that had been laying dormant limply on either side of him to reach awkwardly into the passenger side of the car, terrified of what might meet him. He gripped her jacket, taking a fistful and shaking her.

"Pam." His voice cracked, making his call quiet and limp. He shook harder, finding her darkened figure motionless. He licked his cracked lips and tried again. "Pam!" He managed a bit louder, hearing the fear that carried it to deaf hears.

"Talk to me Pam, damnit." He was cursing, feeling himself start to spin out of control. He kept shaking.

His heart stopped beating when he heard her grunt and stir under his fingers.

"Jim?" She moaned into the darkness. She was alive; her voice wonderful music to his ears.

He released her jacket to flick the interior dome light on to get a better look at her. The soft light cast a soft and eerie glare in the cab, burning Jim's eyes for a moment before he adjusted to the light.

"Hey," He whispered to her, twisting his neck to face her, releasing himself from the restraints that bound him to his seat. When he unfastened his seatbelt he felt himself drop slightly in her direction, remembering their angle.

"You okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" The edge in his voice returning.

He could see Pam blink against the light and Jim watched the realization set into her soft features. Quickly her disorientation turned into alarm. Her eyes widened freighting and she stiffened in her seat, looking at the environment she found herself in.

"We crashed! Oh god, Jim, we flipped, the car…" She was starting to hyperventilate.

"Pam!" Jims demanding voice stifled her own. She sat motionless in her seat, still breathing heavily. "Pam," he began again, his voice softening. "Pam can you feel your legs? I need you to check to see if you can feel your toes." His voice insistent.

Pam was for a moment confused. They had been in a major accident. Why did he care about her legs? Of course she could feel them, she thought as she looked down; her throat caught. The entire right side of the car had crushed in around her, the doorframe looking deformed and battered against the fight it had lost with the terrain. The frame bent dangerously close to her body.

"Oh god, Jim…" She began to panic again.

"Stop it." He demanded. She quieted again. "Okay, check your toes for me, okay? Just wiggle them?" He found her face with his hand and penetrated her with his eyes. "Just check your toes." His voice was strangled on the last word, his bravado weakening.

Pam nodded and looked down, the light not reaching that far down in the car, she wiggled one toe and then the other, each one squirming in her shoe. She nodded, looking back to his as she tried to pull her knees up to pull her legs from the damage. That's when the pain shot through her like a wave of lava.

She quickly sucked in her breath and reached her hand down the denim of her jeans to her thigh. Then she felt it; a course piece of jagged metal that clung to the soft skin, puncturing it shallowly.

Jim eyes were instantly back on her. "What? What is it? Is something wrong?" His voice seemed close to hysterics. Pam's heart instantly jumped into her throat.

"It's nothing, I'm just sore, that's all." She lied, not wanting to tell him how badly her leg burned. She quickly covered the evidence with her jacket, deciding that it wasn't the worse of their circumstances.

She turned her face to his, watching his eyes regard her for a moment before nodding slightly, as he rubbed his eyes with his hands.

He knew this was bad. He wasn't sure what time it was, but it was black outside. Late enough for his silver car to be easily missed by a passing car if there had been enough snow covering their landing. He needed to keep it together, his brain splitting from the raging headache, he needed to come up with a plan.

But Jim had to admit to himself silently that he had no idea what they were going to do. Things were only going to get worse as the storm raged on.


	5. Waiting

A/N- Thanks for all the encouragement so far! It's very exciting to see that people are concerned for poor Jim and Pam. Maybe I should stop torturing them. Maybe not. We'll see :)

S.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Office or Mambo Number 5, thank god.

XX

"What's that you're humming?"

"What?"

"What are you humming? It sounds familiar"

Pam wasn't aware she had been humming, She flushed, embarrassed. "Oh, uh, Mambo Number 5."

Jim laughed, wrapping his jacket around himself. It was getting cold. "Oh, boy." He mumbled.

"Don't ask me why, maybe I was feeling nostalgic." Referencing Michael's annoying ring tone.

"Michael always did have a way of picking up things at the height of their popularity. Such as a poorly written song from the 90's that was never really popular in the first place." Jim quipped.

Pam tried to smile. She tried shifting herself awkwardly in her seat, but gravity kept pushing her towards the doll frame and into the twisted metal that had made camp in her leg. The pain had faded into a into a dull fire.

Jim picked up his cell phone again, looking at the face in the light. No signal, not even for emergency phone calls. He sighed in defeat, tossing it on the dashboard and watched in mock humor as it slowly slid toward the passenger side window.

"What about your cell?" He asked.

"It's dead and packed in my suitcase." She answered, kicking herself for not thinking of charging it earlier. She figured they could do it in New York. And they had Jim's phone, so what did it matter? "It probably wouldn't have worked anyway." Jim sighed. He pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes, willing his brain to stop boiling. "Well. . . Great."

Pam's mind was wandering, a rollercoaster of thoughts and images. She was cold, but she could tell she was sweating, shivering in her winter coat. She needed to keep her mind off her leg.

"So what do we do?" She asked, hoping he didn't notice the strain in her voice.

Jim pulled away his hands, clasping the steering wheel for support. "Well, I guess we're stuck here tonight. Tomorrow we walk back up to the road, try to get a signal on the phone or wait for someone to drive by." It wasn't great, but it was the only plan he had. He didn't want to mention that if the snow kept falling there wasn't a guarantee that anyone would find them.

Pam nodded, feeling queasy. She couldn't imagine making the walk the next day. She could barely move her leg, every time she did she felt another wave of pain. The walk would make it unbearable. She thought briefly about telling him, her mouth opening and spilling a mumbled "Jim?"

"Yeah?" He turned his head slightly toward her, and then she thought of something new. If she told him he wouldn't let her go with him. He'd make the journey alone, and she'd be trapped in the car. This idea petrified her. So she went another direction.

"Truth or dare."

"What?" He asked, surprised.

"You heard me. Let's play. We've got the entire night to wait out. Truth or dare." She tried desperately. She suddenly remembered his last question.

"Truth." He muttered.

"Did you mean it?" She asked, barely able to keep the excitement out of her voice.

"Did I mean what?" He laid his head against the rest and stared at nothing in particular. Pam almost chickened out. She felt sweaty again, not sure if it was from her leg or the topic at hand.

"Did you really mean it when you said we should get married?" She bit her lip anticipation.

Jim had entirely forgotten about their earlier conversation. He dropped his head and closed his eyes, a quiet smile playing his lips. "Yes." He faintly answered into his chest. He gauged her reaction carefully through a sideways stare.

Pam felt the emotion bubbling up in her chest, he leg momentarily forgotten. It was Jim who spoke first.

"Terrible timing, I know, we don't have to talk about it now, " He started, obviously misinterpreting her silence. Pam stopped him.

"Yes." Her voice was little more than a sigh.

Jim's face turned to her, full of strain and excitement, a smile crossing his mouth and for a moment he looked like Jim again. "Really?" he asked, barely containing his excitement.

"Yeah," she beamed. "Of course."

Jim leaned toward her quickly, taking her face in his hands and locking her in a tender kiss. He couldn't help but grin into her mouth.

"I love you." he mumbled into her lips. "I love you, I love you." He kept repeating.

Pam had been enjoying the moment of happiness. She had forgotten about the cold and her leg, and just engulfed herself into the euphoria that Jim was sharing with her. She hadn't even noticed when Jim's hand left her face and trailed down to her right leg and squeezed.

A screamed exploded from her mouth as the she felt the fire engulf her again. This time she couldn't hide it.


	6. Discovery

Pam couldn't stop it. The screaming had ripped from her chest and it was a floodgate; boiling over and echoing into the dark night. The burning river of pain flooded every sense she had. When she couldn't scream anymore, her voice strangled into a wet sob.

"Pam! What is it?" Jim's voice cut through her fog and Pam turned her face away from him, unable to look him in the eye. "Damn it Pam, talk to me!" She could hear his voice shake as his frightened face sought hers.

She laid her forehead against the cool window of the car, trying in vain to stop her shuddering. She couldn't find coherent words, instead she wrapped her hand protectively around her injury, refusing to look at him.

The slight movement wasn't lost on Jim, who shifted his eyes down and glared into the darkened side of the car. "What? What are you hiding, Pam?" She shook her head into the window, feeling the wetness from her tears on her face.

Jim shifted over to her side and pulled her hand away from her leg, what he saw on her fingers made bile rise in his throat. Her hand was covered in sticky red blood.

"Oh god Pam. Oh, Shit! What is this?" His shaking hand caused hers to tremble as well. "What is this?! Are you hurt?" He couldn't get a grip on himself. When she didn't respond, he held onto her wrist and with the other hand he jerked the jacket away from her lap.

"No, Jim, don't" She pleaded weakly.

He thought he was going to throw up. Her right thigh was a darkened mud color, crusted on the top of her jeans. His breath caught when he caught the glint of metal that reared its ugly head in explanation.

"Pam…" he started, his voice low. He couldn't help but feel the burn of anger rise in his chest. She had been lying to him. She had sat here and hid this from him.

"It's fine Jim, I promise." She turned her face to him, he noticed how pale she was for the first time.

"You are not fine! Does this look like fine to you?!" He yelled, shaking her bloody fingers in aspiration. He was terrified. He didn't know how bad it was, but he knew she must have lost a lot of blood. His mind started reeling. He had dropped her hand and covered his face in his trembling hands.

"Jim, please. I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to worry." She pulled his hands away from his face, making him look at her. "It's okay. We'll leave tomorrow and it will be fine."

Jim couldn't believe what she was saying. "Pam, you can't walk like this! Who knows how much blood you lost, or if we'll even have someone find us! Why didn't you tell me?" He was fringing on losing complete control. He realized she wouldn't be able to make the walk, he'd have to go without her.

Pam stayed silent, unable to give him any answer that would make things better.

Jim's mind was made up.

"Tonight then. I'm leaving tonight. I'll walk out to the road tonight and find someone… and it'll be okay." He plotted the plan out, as he was zipping up his jacket and reaching over to find his cell phone.

Pam's heart was beating out of her chest. "Jim, you can't go tonight! It's still snowing! It's freezing! You'll never make it- who knows where we are right now!?" She was screaming.

Jim was putting the cell phone in his inside pocket and was flipping his collar up over his neck. He knew all these things she was telling him, but he didn't know what else to do. His first reaction was to get out and find help.

"Pam, I have to try, I need to find help."

"Jim, you need to stay here tonight." She begged, the image of him staggering out into a frozen night terrified her. "How are you going to find anything tonight? Which way are you going to go? This is crazy!" She was crying again, but this time in anger.

Jim stopped his shifting and rubbed his suddenly sweaty brow. "Pam, please." He started. "I have to."

Pam became angry. He was going to leave her alone in this cold dead car. "No you don't! You don't have to do this! Not tonight!" She screamed to his shaking head. "Why tonight?" She challenged.

He couldn't listen to anymore. "Because I can't lose you!" His angry voice echoed in the car. He spun on her, heaving his breath out like he had been running. "Not like this." He resolved, rubbing his hand across his eyes. He instantly regretted raising his voice. He took a softer approach. "I don't know what else to do Pam." He admitted.

Pam gripped his jacket, gripping his collar like it was a life preserver. "Jim, what happens if you go out there and you don't come back? What then?" She was trying anything, anything that would make him stay with her.

"Pam," he started.

"I'm serious! You go out there and who knows what will happen? If you don't make it, I don't stand a chance." She knew she was paying dirty.

Jim's face fell, knowing that fact already, but he didn't want to admit it. He suddenly felt very helpless. He pushed down the lump starting in his throat, and licked his lips. "So what do we do?" He relinquished.

Pam felt a wave a relief washed over her. Everything was going to be okay as long as he stayed with her that night. She chewed on her lips and found his hands with her own, twisting her cold fingers to intertwine with his.

"We'll leave tomorrow."

Jim wrapped his arm awkwardly across the cab to wrap his arm around her, trying to keep her warm while trying not to move her from her position.

_"I'll_ leave tomorrow," he corrected, brushing his lips across her forehead before continuing. "When it stops snowing, I'll leave and find help. We'll come back and get you. It will be fine." He kissed her hair.

"Until then?" She asked into his wool coat.

"Until then," he trailed off, trying to find something. "Until then, truth or dare."

"Truth."

"When do you want to get married?" He grinned softly against her skin.

Pam could feel the emotion rising back up into her eyes. She nodded against him before answering, "As soon as we get out of this mess."


	7. Worse

Jim wasn't sure how much time had passed. The soft light supplied from the dome light flickered more frequently, telling Jim they had been sitting in the car for several hours. He had long since abandoned checking his cell phone, not wanting to lose precious battery on his journey tomorrow. The temperature in the car dropped to almost freezing, and it was all Jim could do to not make his teeth clatter when he talked.

"Truth or dare."

"I don't want to play anymore. . . I'm tired."

"C'mon, Pam, you started this game."

Jim was trying to keep her talking. He could see the downturn she had taken in the last hour, her face almost transparent and covered in a fine sheen of sweat despite the cold.

Jim had turned his wool scarf into a makeshift turnakit, wrapping it tightly around Pam's thigh, trying to slow the blood loss. Her screams during the process still haunted him every time there was a lapse in conversation that turned into silence.

He had shed his wool coat, wrapping it around her like a oversize sleeping bag. Pam objected at first, insisting that he was being ridiculous, but he knew from her shivering fingers she needed it. So Jim sat clad in his hooded sweatshirt, which was doing little to keep the biting cold at bay, trying to keep his mind of the cold and Pam awake.

He finally heard her stir.

"Truth, then." Was her weak response.

"Okay," he started, trying to be interested in the game. He had wrapped both hands around himself, trying to keep what little warmth he had.

"Are you excited to be leaving Dunder Mifflin?" He asked seriously.

He saw Pam smile softly at the name. She turned her head away from the window to face him before speaking.

"Yes and no, I guess." Taking care to think of her words. "I'm excited to potentially be doing something I love, and not having to answer phones or deal with Michael anymore. . ." she paused. "But it's going to suck not working with you. I got so used to it." She finished, obviously exhausted.

"Yeah," Jim quickly interjected before she turned her head away again, "That part will suck, but it will be great. Especially when we move to New York and have a fabulous overly expensive apartment . You'll be sick of having to spend that much time with me in no time." He joked.

Silence.

Fear rushed into Jim's already fatigued body. "Pam." He tried. Silence again. He leaned over and softly shook her shoulder, waking her out of her black sleep. "Hey, stay with me, okay?" He whispered into her face.

Pam was feeling more and more groggy. She didn't want to play the game anymore, all she wanted to was lose herself in sleep, if only for a few moments. But it was obvoius that Jim had other plans.

"You can't sleep, not yet. Not until we get out of here, okay?" The same dance again. She'd sway into darkness and he'd pull her out again. She was getting tired of him leading.

"Okay, Jim. Truth or dare." She managed.

This seemed to pacify him, as he shifted back into the huddled stance he abandoned earlier.

"Why did you go out with Karen?" She asked, obviously wanting to make him uncomfortable. She wasn't sure why she asked it, the constant throbbing of pain in her leg, and not being able to warm up adequately or even to sleep, and the frustraition started to ebb at her.

Jim sat in silence for a moment, trying to figure out a way out of her question. Finally giving up, he gave a dejected shrug.

"A shrug isn't an answer."She watched Jim's face screw up into that goofy wide eyed smile she'd usually catch him giving to the camera during one of Michaels escapades. Realizing this was going to keep her talking, his resolve wavered.

"I don't know Pam, what do you want me to say?" He said into the steering wheel, not wanting to look at her.

"I don't know." She admitted. "I just want to know, I guess." Curiosity getting to her.

Another shrug. "She was funny I suppose. And she was interested in me, so that's a plus." He joked half-heartedly.

"Did you sleep with her?" Pam's self control died in a hazy fog. There was no censoring now. She was irrationaly angry, she knew, but she wanted to get him to leave her alone. Maybe this would do it.

"What?"

"Did.You.Sleep.With.Her?" She enunciated every word with venom.

Jim rubbed his forehead, pushing his hair back off his forehead. He didn't like talking about his past relationships. And he especially didn't like discussing them with Pam. He started to feel frustrated and helpless all at once.

"Yes." He finally spat. "Are you happy? Yes." He stared out the window, not wanting to face her at that moment.

Pam had known the answer. Of course they had. It was ridiculous to think anything different. But hearing him say it out loud just ended it for her. She couldn't take anymore. She shook her head quietly, softly sobbing. The whole day finally taking its toll on her. Once she started crying, she couldn't stop. She felt the sobs lift into her throat and she felt all the fear and pain multiply and she couldn't handle it anymore.

"Pam, hey." She heard Jim start, obviously thinking it was still about Karen. But it wasn't. She was going to die, she knew it. She just hadn't wanted to admit it.

She felt his arms pull her towards him, but she wasn't crying anymore. She didn't feel anything at that moment except a dark hollow feeling of haze and fog. She decided to let the fog take her in. She couldn't even hear what Jim was saying anymore. She vafuely felt him shake her again, but this time the dance was useless. She slipped willingly into darkness.

XX

"Pam!" He was shaking, trying to pull her back to him. "PAM!" He caught the sob that was about to erupt from his throat. He shook his head against it. It can't be, he just needs her to wake up. "Pam, please, come back to me. Can you hear me?"

She remained motionless in his arms, the shaking only quaking her hair loose around her face. Jim didn't have any idea what to do. He tried to remain calm, but he watched the light flicker and eventually burn out.

He sat in darkness, sobbing into Pam face, still trying to shake her awake.

"Wake up!" He begged. "Pam, please." He couldn't see her clearly, but he felt his head bubble as the tears rolled off his chin to her face. He smoothed her hair off her face, and kissing her forehead, praying she'd feel him and come back. She felt cold. So cold.

Jim couldn't wait any longer. He had to find someone, something to help them. He had to do something. He softly leaned her back on her seat , positioning her head to make her comfortable as possible.

He debated leaving her with the coat, she'd need it to stay warm while he was gone. But as he looked outside the window into darkness, he realized that he wasn't going to have much of a chance without it. Dejected, he pulled her blanket away, slipped into it quickly, and stealing one last kiss on her forehead and a promised, "I'll come back, and it will be okay." He slipped out of the car, cell phone cushioned in his pocket and braved the weather into the night.


	8. Warmth

The support has been amazing! Thank you for all the wonderful comments, it's definitely motivating to update quickly :) Thanks for being so invested in Jim and Pam! I am sure they appreciate it as well.

S.

XXX

Pam was wrapped in warm, fuzzy clouds. It was an interesting, peculiar feeling; like enjoying a warm bath, knowing eventually it was going to go cold. But that didn't matter to her at that moment. At that moment, she was happy.

She thought it strange that she could only see the clouds. They blocked her vision, blurring it slightly, and yet it didn't startle her. She felt dreamy, her eyes shifting around trying to find him, to enjoy this moment of warmth and contentment with her.

She searched for him, but found nothing but the clouds.

"Jim?" She asked, her voice sounding soft as liquid.

Nothing again.

She walked through the fog, feeling light and airy as she made her way through the thick brush. Maybe he was hiding somewhere. Maybe they were playing a game.

"Jim!" She called out, child like in her enthusiasm. "I'm going to find you!" She laughed. She felt her soft curls brush against her back, tickling her as she dashed around the airy joy of warmth to seek him out.

She was still met with fog; an empty endless fog.

Pam slowly realized that maybe this wasn't where she wanted to be. She suddenly feared that Jim wasn't in this place. This started to panic her warm feeling, replacing it with a sudden sadness.

"Jim?" Her voice suddenly different, a strangers voice in her ear. The fog gradually darkened, the warmth evaporating into something colder, more arctic than when she came here.

Then she heard him.

"I'll come back, and it will be okay."

He sounded worried. This confused her. Why was he concerned? Where was he going?

"I'm right here Jim!" She called into the fog, which had become condensed; thick and menacing.

She no longer wanted to stay in this place, feeling it freeze around her. Then she caught sight of something stirring. She ran towards it, feeling the cool mist restrict her speed, making her lazy and slow. He was going to leave her behind.

"Jim, stop! I'm still here! I don't want to go without you!" She started, unsure why she chose those words.

She followed the figure, navigating through the muted darkness that was quickly closing in on her. She didn't know why it had gotten so cold, but she was sure it would warm again as soon as she found him.

She finally caught the glint of his figure; his back facing her and reached out her hand to his darken features, pulling him to face her.

But it wasn't Jim.

It was a little boy, barely half her size, with lazy brown hair that fell haphazardly around his face and recognizable hazel eyes. She was sure she had never seen the young boy before, and yet he was almost hauntingly familiar to her.

He just stood there, smiling at her as their surroundings darkened and closed in around them. She looked around them, seeing the clouds thicken and eventually crumble; turning into frozen ash and falling around.

"Do I know you?" Pam had to rise her voice over the sudden wind that had started howling.

The little boy looked down, smiling slyly before looking up at her beneath lowered lashes. He shook his head coyly, as if she asked him a ridiculous question.

The clouds were freezing now, sticky and wet against her kin. She wrapped her hands around her arms to feebly try to warm them. The wind had picked up angrily, making her hair whip into her eyes.

She screamed over the wind, "Do I belong here?"

The boy regarded her intently, seemingly unaffected by the cold. He firmly shook his head no.

Pam was becoming restless of the boys muted words. She was beyond cold now, the whiteness biting into her feet and against her nose. Her breath puffed out of her like a chimney.

"Then why am I here?" She yelled angrily, wanting answers not games.

The boy gave her a confused look, almost humored by her frustration. He held out a finger to point what she thought was accusingly back at her. She recognized that face, she thought.

But he wasn't pointed at her. He was pointing her to her leg. She looked down and found that her right leg was covered in a sickly red color. Suddenly her leg started to throb and pain was washing down on her.

She gripped herself tightly, falling to the cold wetness that was beneath her. The blood was splattered across what she now understood to be ice, painting it with her blood in almost a beautiful way.

She started to remember. She wanted to stay in the warmth, but it wasn't time for her to go there. She had to get back to Jim.

With the wind in her hair and the cold wet snow falling around her angrily she had one more question for the boy.

"Will I ever know who you are?" Her voice loud, yet lost in the siren of wind and hail.

This question caused an enigmatic smile to play on the boys lips, a warm lopsided smile she had loved so much. He gave one curt nod, proving her suspicions that she had knew all along. The boy smiled lovingly down at her, then turning slightly away from her, he faded into the darkness.

Pam felt the tears soften her against the cold. She had to go back. She had to find Jim. Although she wanted to stay with the boy a little longer, she had to find Jim. She didn't want to be in this place without him. She wanted to be with him.

She turned away from where the boy had stood, knowing her direction now. Still on her hands and knees, she began to crawl, digging into the snow with her fingers and pulling her self forward. Back, actually, she thought to where she knew she belonged.


	9. Journey

A/N- thanks again for all the wonderful support! I never do any of that "Review or Pam will die" type of deal, but I do greatly respect feedback :) It's very inspiring to keep moving with the story. It's just nice to know people are reading.

S.

XXX

God it was cold.

Cold didn't cover it adequately. It was freezing. Jim had endured some cold weather in Scranton, but never had he had to brave it under such desperate times. He felt every muscle, every hair, every piece of skin burn and shake from the cold and lonely terrain he slowly made his way across.

Leaving Pam behind was an arduous decision; he changed his mind several times as he made his way out of the twisted and broken wreckage of his car, wanting to go back into the comfort of the confounds, to be with her. But Pam's pale, unmoving face egged him further. Desperate to find some glimmer of hope of saving her.

The walk wasn't an easy one. He was still able to make out the trail of damage his car had left on the side of the peak, the snowfall not entirely obliterating it yet. He laughed to himself, giving nature the finger, musing that as hard as it tried, nature hadn't completely won. He still had a trail back up to the road.

The snow was almost blinding in its brilliance, even in the dark. He could feel his feet go numb in their shoes as he sloshed through the bumpy landscape, wishing they'd carry him faster. His fingers ached as they laid naked, poking of the end of his jacket, keeping his balance when he'd momentarily slip or stumble. His lungs were on fire; breathing was a chore he had to ruefully endure.

Out in the dark he couldn't keep his thoughts from creeping in on him, distracting him from the task at hand. The voice he heard was disgusted with him, knowing his true feelings and reminding him every stop of the way of why they were here.

'It's your fault you know.' The voice ridiculed him. 'She's going to die, and it's all your fault.' Jim shook the echo out of his mind, pushing it back and climbing with more vigor. The main road couldn't be far by now.

'What's finding the road going to do? You think anyone is going to be there? Like an ambulance waiting for your arrival? You should have left her alone years ago, then you wouldn't be in this mess."

"Shut up!" He shouted frustrated into the night. The voice silenced. Jim was feeling desperate. What if there wasn't any hope for them? The thought of the alternative frightened him. He couldn't lose her. Not now. They had a plan, things were finally going right in his life, for once. He had asked her to marry him. She had said yes. They were engaged, and she was going to die.

His legs gave out and he stumbled and fell, snow biting into his hands, engulfing them into flames. He couldn't go any further. His body was giving in to the fatigue that threatened to take him over. He felt the hopelessness surround him, and he punched his fist into the earth, hating himself for everything. He felt the sorrow, biting his lips against it, trying desperately to keep control.

"Get up." He urged himself. When his legs refused, he became angry. "Get up!" He yelled, pushing himself up by his fists and dug his legs back into the ground to stand. "Now move." He instructed. His legs obeyed, slowly and stiffly, but he was moving again.

He was determined to stay hopeful; casting all the horrible thoughts to the pit of his stomach, and pressed on. He mustered all his strength to make it to the road. All he had to do was make it. He let himself relive all the best times of his life; all the happy memories that kept his legs moving and his resolve return.

He thought of Pam.

He loved her. He loved how warm and funny she was. He loved how she bites her nails when she gets nervous. He loved her much hated pink glasses that she would only wear around him. He loved all the little things about herself that she complained about: the soft lines in her face, her knobby knees, the soft curve of her body, not hard like she wants- but soft and sensual and perfect to Jim.

Jim felt warmed by the thought of her body. He let his body carry him as his mind trailed to the first time that Pam and he made love. She was so shy at first, so ridiculously uncomfortable with her body in front of him, that it made him laugh softly at her. He relived the memory lovingly.

"What are you laughing at?" She asked, wide eyed and half amused. She was clad in only his brown comforter; hiding behind it coyly on his bed one rainy evening. She had her knees pulled up proactively over her chest..

Jim laughed again, and he felt the smile return to his face as he walked.

"Because you are just so beautiful." He sat down on the edge of the bed, kissing her softly of her shoulder and feeling desire and love as she sighed against him.

"I wish you wouldn't say that." She said very seriously. Jim had caught her face with his, confusion causing his eyebrows to knit together. Pam dropped her face to her knees when she said this, and Jim could see the blush that was forming on her cheeks and neck.

He slipped one finger under her chin to face him and he regarded her for a moment. She was so amazingly lovely at that moment that Jim barely found words, trying to catch them as they leapt on his tongue.

"You. Are. Beautiful." He said again, slowly, forcing her to take it in. Before she could interject his lips were on hers and he was leaning her down on the bed, her shyness disappearing immediately.

Jim slipped again, his foot sliding in the snow and he felt his knees buckle into the cold again. The memory was lost. Jim sighed, feeling the anxiety set back in. He shook his head in defiance. He got back up and urged himself on. He looked ahead; realizing the darkness wasn't as black as it was before. In fact, Jim could start to see streaks of sun peaking through tree branches. Jim felt a glimmer of hope. He scanned the path in front of him; now illuminated by the early light of morning.

His heart stopped when he saw it. The branch. He froze as he took it in; no longer laying majestically in the snow, but now splintered and broken, pushed aside and dead. He half laughed half cried when he when he saw it cast on the side of the road.

Jim's head was spinning; a mixture of elation and exhaustion causing him to drop his face into his frozen warn fingers and laugh. The moment was not long lived. Pulling his fingers away, he reached into his pocket and extracted his cell phone, biting his lip and he fingered it on; praying.

"Please God, please." He begged to it as he watch the lights return, and a dim signal appear.

Jim barely let himself celebrate as he swiftly dialed.

"911, what's your emergency?" He made out the swift response through the crackle.

Jim's tongue suddenly was glued to the roof of his mouth; he had done it. He was almost afraid to say anything, to make the moment real. But yet it rushed in on him like a tidal wave. The accident, Pam's cold face in the car. The horrible glint of metal embedded in her leg. The horrible cold climb and his frozen, battered body. He feared for a moment that the whole journey had been in futile; what if she hadn't made it at all? All alone in a broken tin box in this God forsaken place. He would have sold his soul to the devil himself if it would keep her with him.

"What's your emergency?" He heard the operator repeat.

He felt himself tremble, the phone shaking in his fist as he took a gulp of air to his lungs. He prayed he wasn't already too late.

"We've been in an accident. . ."


	10. Help

"Please hurry." Jim's voice seemed strained, even to him. He had been talking to the operator for at least five minutes, describing the accident and the location that they could be found. Jim was itching to hang up to return to the car to tell Pam that they had done it, help was coming.

"And the other person in the car, tell me about her injuries again."

Jim was getting frustrated- realizing that the operator wanted to keep him on the line. He had already given them every horrifying detail of Pam's injury- he didn't want to relive it again just yet. All he wanted to do was to return to the car.

"I've already told you that." He realized his voice was now ragged: scratchy like he had swallowed too much sand. The sun was beginning to come up; its soft glow peaking out over the trees and bathing the landscape in its radiance. He barely heard what the operator said in response, but he was becoming irritable.

"No, my cell phone won't work down there, I have to go and see if she's woken up." He curtly said.

"You let her fall asleep?" The operator ignored him, continuing on.

Anger flared in him for a moment. White hot burning anger. "I didn't let her fall asleep, she passed out. Do you think I would just let her fall asleep?" He hissed through clenched teeth. He pinched the bridge of his nose and clamped his eyes shut, realizing the angry wetness that was forming there. The image of Pam's face kept haunting him; it had been nearly an hour since he left her and he wanted desperately to get back to her.

"Has she regained consciousness?" The voice fluttered in his ear, distracting him from the image.

Jim ran his hand over his chin, feeling the stubble forming there. He shook his head, knowing the operator wouldn't see him.

"Sir? Has she regained consciousness?" She repeated.

"I don't know." Jim heaved a sigh, feeling the sun on his face, but the coldness biting into his cold limbs still. He didn't know what she said next, just telling them to please hurry, and snapping his phone shut, he fought his exhaustion to trot back down the hill, his energy momentarily returning to him in the form of fear.

He had to get back.

He barely glanced at the scenery around him, feeling his feet sloshing in the snow, and his breath quicken in his chest. He slipped, but this time he didn't fall- quickly recovering his footing and breaking into a full run, realizing the way down was a lot easier than up.

After what felt like forever, he saw the car again- and his stomach dropped. It looked so much worse in light; the frame was twisted and smashed, the two tires facing him flat and lifted off the ground. He felt his face sour into a scrawl, his jaw clenching and unclenching on its own.

Wrapping his hands into determined fists, he walked back over to the car, peering into the drivers side window, now wet with dew. He saw her. Her head tilted away from his, still in the position he left her in. He jerked open the drivers side door with effort and gently eased himself in.

"Pam?" He softly called, turning her cold face towards him. She didn't stir.

He bit his lip and gulped down the breath he was holding.

"Pam, hey." He tried again.

Her eyes fluttered weakly. Jim quickly readjusted himself in the car to hear her.

"Hey, is that you?" He stroked her face tenderly, waiting for her to recognize him. She nodded feebly, her eyes glazed over and soggy.

"Someone's coming," He smiled, sniffling against his worn out emotion that had taken hold of him. He meant to sound enthusiastic, but he sounded muted, defeated.

She nodded again, her eyes going foggy as her lids quivered back down.

"No, hey- don't do that. They're coming right now Pam, it's going to be okay." More forced enthusiasm. He tried to keep the panic at bay, but he was doing a poor job of it.

But she didn't open them again. Jim could hear birds chirping in the background; the early sun now filling the car with orange light. Jim could see her leg, partially hidden by his scarf, but the shrapnel still there, and the blood- god the blood he thought- her leg was almost black with dried blood. But Jim ignored them, desperate to regain the little hope he had.

"Pam, please. We're so close." His voice strangled.

He shifted his head over hers; turning his head to angle his ear over her mouth. He held his breath to hear her.

Nothing.

She wasn't breathing. "Shit. Shit. Shit-" Jims hand snaked into his pocket, pulling out his cell phone, prying it would have a signal. "Damn it!" He yelled, throwing the useless phone into the dash, turning around to see if he could see anyone that was promised to him.

'What do I do?" He screamed in his mind, realizing just shaking her wasn't doing anything but causing his eyes to cloud over and his breathing hitch. He leaned back over her again, careful not to let himself crush her and with trembling fingers he leaned her head back in the seat and plugged her nose while grasping her chin- opening her mouth.

He took one breath before leaning over her and covering her mouth with his. Her lips felt cold; not warm and soft like he remembered. He pushed his breath into her mouth, forcing her to take it. He pulled away and unzipping her jacket, pressed his ear back to her chest; waiting for something.

He felt a heart beat- a faint one. But no breathing.

He took her face in his hands and continued to desperately try to turn his breath into hers.

"Damn it Pam, come on! Don't do this!" He screamed into her face, not even causing her to flinch.

He heard it then, the siren. He didn't want to wait for them to make their way down here. So he made a split decision. They would meet them.

Taking her left arm, he slung it over his neck and he wrapped his own around her torso, and he slowly extracted her from the car. He moved with much more caution than he thought he was capable of- taking extra time not to further injure her leg. He pulled her limp body into the cool morning air, realizing he was shaking, but not from the cold.

He laid her onto the snowy ground, pushing more and more air into her lungs, one last ditch effort.

Finally he felt her cough into his mouth, taking a ragged breath in.

Jim laughed, half crying into her face. "I knew you'd come back." He spoke into her stirring forehead.

Without waiting for her to respond, he pulled her up, and shifting her position, he picked her up into his arms and with sturdy feet he carried her up to the wailing siren. To help.

"We're here!" He yelled into the distance, not yet seeing them. They were still too far to be noticed. His legs and arms screamed from carrying her dead weight in his grasp.

"Hold on, Pam- hold on." He cooed into her forehead- not sure if he was talking to her or himself.

The sirens were getting louder- they were getting closer. He shifted her weight in his arms and pressed on, finding hard earth to find footing on.

"We're down here!" He yelled again. He heard the sirens cut.

"Hey Bobby, I think I heard them." Jim could make out the voice before he saw them. All he had to do was make it over this hill. He didn't have to.

He saw the first man, short and clean shaven, clad in a blue shirt and dark khakis. He watched the man turn and yell. "They're here!" Then he ran down the side, snapping gloves on to meet Jim on the side of the snowy peak. "Is she breathing?" The man placed a plastic finger on her neck for a pulse.

"Yeah, she is now." Jim answered. Jim watched as two more men emerged; one followed the first down the peak, while the other disappeared back over the top. When the second man met him he put he hand on Jim's back and gave him a no nonsense, "Let us take her from here." As he moved his arm under Pam's head.

Jim would let go of her, holding tight. "No," he started, "I can take her."

The first man looked up at Jim's ragged figure, regarding him for a second. "You've done well. Let us take her." Jim finally nodded, as the shorter man tilted his head to the second one as he continued to slip his arm under Pam's head and firmly around her neck. The shorter man gripped her knees and they pulled her away from Jim's shaking arms.

He watched as they made their way back up the mountain- where he saw the third man had prepared a gurney. He watched, half dead as they loaded her onto the stretcher, and wrapping her in a neck brace, and moving over her quickly.

Jim felt his legs give out. Now that they had her safely in the ambulance Jim felt the sandbags lift off his shoulders and he sunk his head into the snow, his palms gripping either side of him. He took one large gurgled breath and blacked out, no longer hearing the birds in his ears or the warm breath of morning air.


	11. Surprise

It was bright- so bright it was brilliant.

Jim shifted through the intense light until his eyes blurred. Then he tried to open them. The room he found himself in was fuzzy and indistinct. He heard beeping; turning his head to the side he saw a monitor, black with green blips zooming across.

He shook his aching head, and his vision became better. He looked down at himself and saw he was in a bed with metal railings and white sheets. He was in the hospital. He found his arms uncovered by the blanket, a tube sticking out of one of them. He watched the liquid as it dropped from the IV bag above his head into the vein in his arm.

Jim was groggy; his body sluggish as he tried to shift around in the bed, trying to find someone who could tell him what happened.

As if on cue, a nurse entered the room, staring at a clipboard intently. She was older, maybe in her late fifties, with jetblack hair that was pulled tightly into a bun. She looked up from it and jumped, her hand clasping her chest.

"Mr. Halpert, you gave me quite the start." She had a warm smile.

Jim softly grinned back- feeling too groggy to do anything else.

She dropped the clipboard at his feet and approached the side of his bed, checking his monitor and all the wires. "Let's see how your doing here." She said in a singsong voice.

"What happened?" Jim asked, trying to clear the fog from his voice.

She stopped fiddlingand leaned down over him, giving him a serious look.

"Mr. Halpert, what do you remember?" She laid her hand softly on his shoulder.

Jim's brow furrowed; trying to remember. He saw quick snips of images in his mind; the car flipping, the mountain side, Pam…

"Pam!" Jim jerked up, ready to jump out of bed to find her. The nurse seemed to anticipate this, and pushed her hand down against his shoulder to pin him to the matress. Jim was surprised how easily she could restrain him- he felt like all his strength left him.

"Easy there, Mr. Halpert, you've had a very rough couple of days. You are extremely dehydrated, and have a slight concussion…" she began.

"I need to go see her," Jim tried to push against her strong arms. She cut him off.

"What you need to do is rest, wait until we get you hydrated and the drugs to wear off. We gave you something to help you rest while we watched your brain for swelling. You're going to be groggy for a while."

Jim finally stopped struggling, understanding why he was so foggy. He pushed his head into the pillow, crestfallen. "What about Pam? How is she doing?"

Confident he wasn't going to continue struggling, the nurse lifted her arms and picked retrieved the clipboard, taking a pen from her pocket to scribble notes on his chart.

"We should really wait for the doctor." She began.

"Please." The sound of Jims voice seemed pathetic, even to him.

The nurse stopped her scribbling and regarded him with piercing eyes. She shrugged and laid her clipboard back down and laid her elbows on his bed railing.

"As you may have known, Ms. Beesly lost a lot of blood, the doctors extracted the piece lodged in her thigh. It missed missed her major artery, which is good. Things were a little worrisome for her for a while, but they were able to stablize her and they're doing fine." She smiled down at him. "I heard what you did, it's pretty amazing. They're very lucky." She grinned in a motherly way at him.

Jim let out a sigh; his heart was flying in his chest as he realized she was going to be okay. Pam was going to be okay. He never felt so light in his life. But then he was confused.

"What do you mean by 'they'?" He asked, perplexed.

The nurse's face froze, looking as if she had ruined a surprise party. She quickly looked away from his face to the door.

"Uh, maybe we should wait for the Doctor…" She trailed off.

Jims heart stopped, he laid his hand over one of hers and squeezed.

Her face turned back and she sighed loudly, and Jim could see her resolve weaken.

"Ms. Beesly is four weeks along." She smiled softly at him.

Jim didn't understand. His groggy mind raced to catch up.

"Along to what?" He asked, feeling like an idiot.

The nurse laughed, high and soft. "Mr. Halpert, did you really not know?" Jim's face knotted, trying to comprehend.

She leaned down, turning her lips up into a small smile.

"Ms. Beesly is pregnant. Congratulations, you're going to be a father."

Jim's heart froze- he felt his skin tingle and goose flesh break out over his arms.

Pam. She was…. And it was his… He felt himself laughing, burying his face in his hands and letting the joy sweep over him.

"Oh my god, a baby" Jim felt his chest swell; he wiped the back of his hands across his eyes. The joy making him dizzy. "Can I see her?" Jim asked, the smile hurting his face. He tried to sit back up, but the nurse gently pushed him back down.

"Whoa, tiger- soon. But first you need to finish your fluids; and Ms. Beesly is still resting. I'll come back later and take you- deal?"Jim thought for a moment and then nodded his head, leaning back into the lumpy pillow, still smiling.

"I'm going to be a daddy." He said to the nurse, who was fiddling with his wires again. He suddenly felt very groggy- his eyes heavy.

"I know," the nurse said, amused.

Jim felt himself drift back to sleep, knowing that his entire life was about to change.


	12. Awaken

"Pam."

It was a distant, faraway noise that slightly echoed in the room. She thought that she had recognized the voice, pulling her from the current. She wasn't ready to wake up yet, still wanting the darkness to sooth her a while more yet.

"C'mon- come back to me."

She knew she had recognized that voice. It was Jim's.

She pushed her heavy eyes open, expecting to see the goofy grin of Jim's face. She smiled in anticipation, ready to see him. She was in an ill lit room, the only illumination coming from the hallway leading into it.

She was in a bed, laying on her back- with thick sheets covering her. But there was no one else in the room with her. No Jim. No anybody.

Pam sat up- squinting against the poor light of the room. 'Where am I?' She wondered, still half-groggy. Carefully examining the contents of the room, she assumed she was in a hospital. She laid back onto her pillow, letting her arms trail over her face and sighed. Jim did it, just like he promised. They were safe.

So where was he?

Pam pushed herself back up on the bed, bracing her arms behind her as she craned her neck to see out the darken window. Maybe something happened? She worried that he wasn't there.

She wasn't sure how long she had been waiting in that bed, or where Jim was- but she wanted to see him; had to see him to make sure he was okay.

She shifted in her bed, ready to spin her legs out to climb out of bed to go look for him herself. She pulled her sheets away from her legs and then gasped out in horror.

Her right leg was gone; her thigh swelling and then turning into air right below her hip. She reached out to touch it- only finding mattress where her leg should be.

She started screaming.

She jerked awake; sweat dripping from her forehead into her eyes, stinging them. Her breath was heaving in her chest as she remembered the frightening dream. Her eyes scanned the room around her; no longer dark and bare, but now light and illuminated.

She lifted her left hand to wipe the sweat and tears out of her eyes, controlling her breathing as it rattled in her chest.

Her body felt heavy- glued down. She looked down to find a disheveled mop of hair face down on the side of her bed- a familiar nose and a soft snore greeted her.

Jim was laying carefully on the edge of her bed; his long torso sprawled out in a chair while his face was pushed into the mattress. He had one hand thrown across her belly, while the other one gripped her hand softly. Pam felt herself smile- watching him as he inevitably did with her while she slept.

She laid her head back on the pillow, watching the cracks in the ceiling slowly move out of the blurry fog they were shrouded in with better clarity.

Her heart was still fluttering in her chest, the dream fading; but not yet gone. She licked her lips, feeling the chapped skin that was rough on her tongue.

'Just do it, Pam.' She thought, as she wiggled the toes on her left foot. She felt them rub against the scratchy lining of the bed sheets, much as she expected.

Letting go of a breath, she decided to try for the right. Chewing on her lip again, she felt herself warm at the prospect of the dream holding some truth like a prophecy.

At that moment, she felt the bed shift.

She looked down, momentarily distracted as Jim stirred on the bed; the hand over her stomach rubbing small circles on her belly subconsciously. She tilted her head at him, admiring his shaggy appearance: the stubble on his cheeks that were far past 5 o'clock shadow, the dark circles under his eyes, and the pale complexion his face had adapted. He still looked unbelievable.

She watched Jim's eyes slowly open; disoriented at first, before focusing on her face. She watched his face twist into a grin as his hand snake away from her body as he used it to check his mouth for drool.

"Hey," he greeted, his voice sounding rough.

"Hey," she replied.

He quickly shifted out of his chair to lean over her at the head of the bed. His eyes were quickly shifting over her face, taking in every nick or scratch with extreme scrutiny. He delicately smoothed his palm over her forehead, pushing her wet hair down with great care.

"How are you feeling?" He beamed down at her.

She felt battered and tired; but she knew she was alive. She shrugged, not committing to a solid answer. Her eyes shifted back down to the bed- falling hesitatingly. She felt her mouth twitch in anticipation.

Jim's eyes followed hers and understood; he dropped his head briefly and upon lifting it asked, "are you ready?"

Pam's head snapped back up at him. She deliberated for a moment, closing her eyes and taking a breath. She finally nodded, opening them again- looking into his.

She felt Jim's hands trail down her stomach to her right thigh- he gripped the sheets in his hand and gently pulled them away...

Pam's heart was beating wildly in her chest- she was still looking at Jim's face, trying to find the truth to her unanswered question. Jim's face for his part was a blank canvas. He stared intently at her for a second, before tilting his head toward the lifted sheets, never breaking her eye contact.

Pam's eyes finally tore away from his face as she slowly let them trail down her body- finding the sheets that were gripped tightly in Jim's fist.

There was her leg; heavily bandaged and now suddenly throbbing; but intact non the less.

She left a manic laugh out as she let her head fall back onto her pillow. "Why couldn't you just tell me?" She asked, aspirated.

She heard Jim's soft chuckle. "What? And ruin the fun for you?" Her face shot back up at him, scowling.

"And what part do you think I would see as 'fun'."

Jim's face dropped when she said this; she instantly regretted it.

"Jim, I…" She started.

He shook her head against her words. He had released her sheets and his hands were now clasped on her bed.

"You're right." He started- his voice glum. "I'm so sorry Pam. . ." he apologized, his voice hitching in his throat.

"Jim, stop." She interjected- "It's not your fault. I should be thanking you." She ended.

"For what? Almost killing you? For almost turning us into Popsicles? God, Pam- you almost died." His voice jumped from guilt to anger. He hid his face in his large hands, shielding himself from her gaze.

Pam lifted a hand up and gently pulled his away from his face, seeking his attention.

"You saved my life." She smiled lovingly- wrapping her fingers around his. "I have a lot of reasons to thank you."

He lifted his head at her, nodding softly. "Yeah, I know the reasons," he grinned.

His odd statement confused her.

"What do you mean?" She asked, bewildered.

Jim made an odd face- scratching the side of his neck as she watched a soft blush creep from under his collar. She'd never seen Jim blush before.

"What is it?"

Jim's eyes shifted away from her, finding the bleeping monitor above her extremely interesting at the moment.

"Tell me." She shook his hand, the anticipation killing her.

His eyes fell back down to their hands, agilely avoiding her face. The blush now extending to his cheeks.

"Do you really not know?" He muttered, his voice barely above a whisper, his eyes still avoiding hers.

"Know what?" She laughed, this was absolutely nerve wracking.

Slowly his face lifted back up to hers and she felt her smile drop, waiting in torture for him to speak again. This news had better be big to draw it out like this.


	13. Belly

A/N- So this is it! I've been thinking how to end this story- not wanting to pull it too far away for the original plot line. I'm considering doing a sequel to the story- let me know if you guys would be interested in another JAM baby story. I'm thinking it would pick up pretty much where this story leaves off. Thanks for all the support and awesome feedback!

-S.

Jim froze; unable to meet Pam's gaze at that moment. How did she not know? Is she messing with me? He thought- his eyes seeking out every crack, every line in the paint to keep him distracted from looking at her face.

"Tell me, what is it?" Her giggle carried in his ears. Her fingers were tightly wrapping around his; gently pulling like they were playing a game. Her childlike excitement was endearing; Jim felt his ears flush at the thought of looking into her eyes. She was pregnant. He felt his face warm at the word. It felt so silly to think it, but his stomach flipped at the thought of it. Pam's swelling belly, he couldn't keep his hands off of it since he found out, wondering when he'd feel it, t-ball, walking to school, … he wanted it so bad he could taste it.

"Jim," she pulled him back into reality. He realized he had made a mistake: he looked her in the eyes. They were so bright and amused- not like anything she had adapted the last few hellish days. She looked like her normal self again. God, he loved her, he thought.

"Um," He started, quickly averting his eyes- now staring at their clasped hands. "When you were in surgery, the nurse came in to talk to me…"

Pam's face fell, she feared the worst. "What? What is it? Is it bad?" Her stomach jumped into her throat. "Is it about my leg? Am I going to be able to walk?" She felt her voice rise at every word.

His head jerked back up, quickly finding his feet and cupping her face in his large hands. "Hey," he calmed, his eyes drilling hers. "You're going to be fine- you'll need physical therapy, but it's fine." He smiled.

She closed her eyes and nodded, suddenly feeling sick. "Promise?" She asked.

"Yes, of course." He chuckled at her.

"Then what is it?" her brow furrowed, her nerves still rattled.

For a moment she watched Jim struggle with words- turning them over in his mind before they hit his lips.

"Pam, you're… we're.." He struggled.

"We're what? Lucky? Awesome? Awe-inspiring…" She listed off, the smile returning.

"Pregnant." He interrupted.

Pam's smile faded as his rushed words took affect.

"Oh." she managed. Her stomach was still doing flips, and now she though she was really going to be sick.

"So.." Jim prodded, his lips a thin line.

"How did this…happen?" She felt like she was in a blur. She caught Jim's face; he smirked raising his eyebrows and screwing up his lips. She realized the humor in her statement.

"Ok, I know how," She grinned, feeling the excitement start to take over. "Really?" She asked, needing more confirmation.

Jim shrugged; pulling his head to one side. "I guess we'll find out for sure in oh, eight months." He pretended to look at his watch. Pam laughed, feeling the tears start in her eyes.

"Are you happy? About this, I mean?" He bit his lip, feeling his palms go sweaty.

Pam stared down at her stomach, imagining what it would look like all swollen and full. Then she remembered her dream; the young boy, his untidy hair and unruly nose. She laughed at the thought.

She slip her hands down to her belly, seeing if she could feel him.

"Absolutely, I am." She said very seriously.

She heard Jim roar with amusement, and he leaned over to attack her face with his, smothering her with laughing kisses. He pressed his hand over hers and felt the warmth radiate from her hand.

"Wow." She laughed, when he pulled away, bruising her lips with his.

"Yeah. Wow." He felt lighter than air at that moment.

"So what do we do now?" She looked up at him.

He shrugged again, not really caring about anything else at that moment.

"Do we go back to New York?" He asked. Pam's face screwed up as she thought it over.

"Can I drive?" She grinned.

"In your condition? Are you serious?" He shook his head in aspiration. "We can fly." He mused.

She laughed, suddenly feeling drowsy. She felt her eyes drop, and her smile fade- but her happiness remained.

She felt him kiss her forehead and head the chair scratch across the floor as he sat back down, pulling his hand protectively back over her belly- knowing he'd be there when she woke up.


End file.
